‘Working Nine to Five’ with Nina DiAngelo at Roxy’s Cabaret

Join Nina DiAngelo, Monica West and BeBe Zahara Benet at “A Holly Dolly Christmas” Drag Brunch at Roxy’s Cabaret in Minneapolis on December 14 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

With Dolly-themed cocktails, prizes for the best Dolly Costume and door prizes, even Jolene would attend “just because she can.”

It all started in 2019 when Roxy’s director Nina DiAngelo was approached by Sam and Dion Turner, the owners of Nicollet Diner, an establishment with a 24-hour breakfast menu.

The Turners offered the opportunity to create a cabaret concept to be part of the relocation and expansion of The Nicollet Diner, DiAngelo says.

Since opening its doors in October 2022, Roxy’s Cabaret has been a premier destination for drag, brunch and entertainment in the Cities. Roxy’s is dedicated to one of DiAngelo’s best friends and a drag legend in the Midwest, Roxy Marquis, who lost her five-year battle with cancer just before the project was about to begin.

DiAngelo, working over sixty hours a week in “every position imaginable,” designs all of the visuals, menus and anything that falls under the print or digital umbrella while not performing in drag.

“I enjoy every part of it, from creating the looks to choosing the music,” DiAngelo says. “I just love the vibes from the creative process and the digital elements.”

Impersonating Dolly for nearly ten years, DiAngelo says she has performed as a multitude of different characters but especially loves being Dolly because she is “just so over the top.”

Getting ready for drag shows is fully dependent on what you’re getting ready for, DiAngelo says, but it typically takes her an hour and a half to get into full drag — her record is 45 minutes.

“Dolly, she’s always been a superstar,” DiAngelo says. “But, she’s just so relevant right now, and has always done such a great job of being authentically and unapologetically herself.”

According to DiAngelo, Parton’s publisher reached out to her through Roxy’s website, providing Roxy’s with Parton’s cookbooks to hand out as “Dolly Door Prizes.”

To enter, no costume is required — but dressing Dolly-esque with her signature voluminous blonde wig and custom t-shirts that read “I love Dolly” or “The Dolly Fan Club” is certainly welcome and encouraged, DiAngelo added.

Walking into the music, all of Dolly’s hits from “9 to 5,” “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene” and sprinkles of Christmas songs from “Holly Jolly Christmas” to “Christmas Without You” are sure to make an appearance, according to DiAngelo.

What makes Dolly’s music so spectacular is the vast scope her music encompasses, the element of fun her lyrics have and the uniformity in performing them, according to DiAngelo.

To fully display Dolly’s reach, songs from her 2023 “Rockstar” album can be expected to make an appearance, along with some of her Christmas music, according to DiAngelo.

“It’s hard to find somebody else, other than Dolly, that’s so committed to just being a good person,” DiAngelo says.

Roxy’s will be not only serving looks but also food from The Nicollet Diner’s full menu, including all-day breakfast, sandwiches, burgers, appetizers, soups, and a new diner menu that will include elevated appetizers by the end of this year.

DiAngelo’s favorite? The chicken and waffles. House-made waffles topped with golden-fried chicken breasts meet sweet and savory red-eye gravy and maple syrup for a superb breakfast combo.

In today’s vast sphere of technology, DiAngelo says the introduction of video components and LED lights have created an expansive, showstopping element to Roxy’s drag shows.

“As far as Roxy’s building, everyone is welcome in that part,” DiAngelo says. “We are not a club or a nightclub, we are a restaurant and a cabaret that has so much to offer.”

More upcoming Drag Brunches:

• “It’s gonna be WICKED! Broadway Leading Ladies Drag Brunch” on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Roxy’s
• “Dolly and Friends, Hard Candy Christmas Drag Brunch” on Dec. 1 at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

Tickets may be purchased now through Dec. 14 online at Eventbrite for $15 each.

Visit https://roxyscabaret.com/ for more information on other upcoming shows.

Roxy’s Cabaret | 1333 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 554043